


Mermaid Tails and Glass Slippers

by TheTokenAro



Category: Original Work
Genre: F/F, Fairy Tale Retellings, Kinda just testing how all this works, Magic, Unrealistic Love Expectations, fairytales - Freeform, this is the first fic I'm posting
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-14
Updated: 2021-03-14
Packaged: 2021-03-21 23:13:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,398
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30029310
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheTokenAro/pseuds/TheTokenAro
Summary: Ariel was in love. The moment she saw that human laughing and smiling on the ship, her heart was sent a flutter.So she saved him. And followed him, as she often did with things that interested her. She found that he was a prince and that he would be holding a ball for the next three nights to find a bride.She had to be at that ball.
Comments: 1
Kudos: 3





	Mermaid Tails and Glass Slippers

**Author's Note:**

> I've had this idea for a while now and I finally get to share it! Like I said in the tags this is kinda just me figuring out Ao3. I don't expect many people to read this but if you are thanks!

Ariel was in love. The moment she saw that human laughing and smiling on the ship, her heart was sent a flutter.

So she saved him. And followed him, as she often did with things that interested her. She found that he was a prince and that he would be holding a ball for the next three nights to find a bride.

She had to be at that ball.

Which meant she needed to be human.

Her father wouldn’t do it, that was for sure. Her sisters would be more likely to encourage her pursuit, but none were skilled enough in magic.

So Ariel did what she did best. Find.

There were many rumors of the Sea Witch, the Typhoon, Commander of the Abyss. Ursula.

She was surprisingly easy to locate, as if all poor unfortunate souls were drawn to her cave.

Ariel told Ursula of her plight and made a deal.

On each night for the next three days, Ariel would become human, returning to the ocean once the sun rose. If she didn’t get a kiss by the third morning, she would forever be bound to Ursula.

For all of the first day, Ariel was ecstatic. She spent hours in her grotto picking what to wear, and hours more cleaning the waterlogged dress.  
She waited on the beach for the sun to go down, each second stretching longer than the last. And then finally, it happened.

Her tail transformed into a pair of legs. She spent minutes just staring at them before steadily standing up. Her walk was shaking and wobbly, but she got her bearings by the time she entered the ballroom.

It looked like something out of her books. (Those were kept in a cave on land. She soon learned that they didn’t do well underwater) The place was beautiful, hundreds of humans talking and dancing in fancy clothes. She hadn’t realized till now that her plain green dress would stand out.

She stepped further into the room self consciously, wondering if all the people would stare at her and somehow figure out she wasn’t one of them.

All those worries melted away when she saw him. The prince. He was near the back of the room, surrounded by several other people.

Ariel pushed herself through the crowd, peeking over heads just hoping the prince would catch her eye and recognize her as his savior all those nights ago.

He didn’t even look her way.

After several minutes of trying to get his attention, she huffed and turned back to the rest of the room. She had three nights to get a kiss from him. She could try again later. Besides, this might be her only chance to see human culture upclose.

Her attention was soon captured by a girl, seeming to be about her age.  
She had gold hair curled up into a bun, and a silver gown that looked like it was spun from moonlight. A smile lit up her face as she danced to the music without a care in the world.

Ariel’s breath caught in her throat.

The girl soon noticed her stare, stopping and both looking at each other, not saying a word. Finally Ariel spoke up.

“Your dress is really pretty.”, she said, her voice barely coming out at a whisper.

“Oh, thanks. My fairy godmother gave it to me.” “Really?”

The girl blinked, then laughed. “No, I was joking.” Ariel’s cheeks burned with embarrassment. The girl didn’t seem to notice.

“I like your hair.” Ariel reached up a hand to her curly red locks. “Thanks.”

They continued talking, Ariel learning her name was Cinderella. “Don’t tell anyone that, though.”, she whispered, “I’m not really supposed to be here.”

Ariel tilted her head in confusion. “I thought the ball was open to everyone?” “It is, but my stepmother wouldn’t let me go. I snuck out anyways, I doubt she’d recognize me like this.”

They spoke for hours, until the clock struck midnight and panic overtook Cinderella’s features. “I’m sorry, I have to go.” She picked up her skirt and ran out like her life depended on it.

After that, Ariel’s boredom grew. She still couldn’t catch the prince’s eye and there was no one else she wanted to talk to.

So she left, waiting on the beach till morning and slipping back home.

The second day, Ariel was determined to get the prince’s attention. She took the prettiest dress and the fanciest jewelry she had and spent the entire day cleaning them, making them look almost new.

And yet it still wasn’t enough.

Luckily, she found herself once again by Cinderella’s side.

“How did you get your hair so red?”, she asked. “I was born with it. My mother had red hair too.” “Had?” “She died.” “Oh...my mother died too.”

At one point, Cinderella invited Ariel to dance.

“Why did you look so scared at midnight yesterday?”, she asked as they danced. Something flashed across Cinderella’s face. “Oh, I just needed to clean the house before my family came home. It takes a long time.”

Ariel frowned. “Why do they expect you to clean through the night.”

Cinderella shrugged. “I do all the chores. It’s how it’s been for years.”

Ariel couldn’t say she was an expert on how chores worked, but that didn’t sound like it was right. “Aren’t they your family?” “They don’t treat me like it.” She shook her head. “But enough about me. What about your family?”

“Well, I have six older sisters.” “Six?” “Yeah, and my father.”

They kept swapping stories throughout the night, the prince entirely forgotten. Then midnight came once again and Cinderella ran off. It took Ariel less than a minute to give into the temptation to follow her.

She found no sign of her, except for a glass slipper tipped over on the steps. She picked it up and examined it. Holding it close to her chest, she decided to leave for the night, waiting on the beach till sunrise.

Ariel had one night. One night to get the prince to kiss her. And he hadn’t even so much as looked at her.

She tried so hard that night just to get him to acknowledge her, but she was lost in the sea of people. She didn’t like that kind of sea.

She found her way into the gardens, staring up at the stars she might never see again. It didn’t take long for Cinderella to find her. It also didn’t take long for her to notice she was upset.

“What’s wrong?” With those two words, the truth came spilling out. That she was a mermaid, saving the prince, the deal with Ursula, and how she was sure this was her last night of freedom.

By the end she was wrapped in Cinderella’s arms, sobbing. Now her tears ran silent, simply taking in shaky breaths.

“Does it have to be the prince’s kiss?”, Cinderella finally spoke. Ariel looked up at her. “I...don’t think she specified.”

“Well, I’m not royalty but…” She leaned closer. And Ariel filled the gap.

She didn’t open her eyes to see if the magic was visible, but she could feel it. A weight she didn’t know she had lifted off her chest. When they did open their eyes, another was with them.

A being that looked like she was made of moonlight, wings sprouting out her back.

“Fairy Godmother!”, Cinderella gasped, “What are you doing here?”

“I am here to help you, my child.”, she replied, “And helping you includes helping those you love.”

She turned to Ariel. “Do you wish to return to the sea?”  
Ariel felt almost breathless. “No.”, she answered honestly, “But I don’t think I could stay from it forever.”

The fairy nodded, and placed a hand over Ariel’s heart. Magic swelled up again. “When you are on land, you shall be human. When you are in the water you shall be mer. Do what you wish with this gift.” And then she disappeared.

They spent until midnight dancing, and laughing, and crying. And when midnight came and Cinderella’s gown became rags, they ran off to the beach where they made a plan.

Ariel had many things in her grotto that were valuable to humans. And Cinderella had several skills that she’d picked over the years.

So they would run away together. And they would live happily ever after.


End file.
